Jesus, an Upstander, and ME!!
By: Monika Stamberg
Jesus: 
Reign of God
      An Upstander:
 Death Penalty case study (Sister Helen) 
Me: 
Listen Model/ Making Good Choices

Reign Of God
The Reign of God is NOT:
or
a place
rain
reigns

•A time, not a place. (Varies for everyone at what time it happens... )
•Characterized by the actions that people make. (the {good} choices made)
•Jesus’ “One Thing” 


No! The Reign of God is:

The mission/goal of the Reign of God: to have a new social order based on love of and for one another. A time characterized by joy, peace, freedom and love.

Media Connection:
The Reign of God is important because it urges everyone to be an upstander to crime, poverty, and lack of love. The importance of the Reign of God, as Jesus was trying to teach to us, in relation to objects found today, is to put our whole hearts and passions into an item or devotion to a person as we would want to when encountering the Reign of God; to show the love we have for those things and how we would demonstrate that same love with the Reign of God. 

         Today, a very popular clothing company for teens is demonstrating the concept of the Reign of God with its apparel. Victoria’s Secret Pink® collection has a theme of “Peace and Love,” in which all the items of this collection have something embedded with this theme. The mission of the Reign of God, was to create a social order based on love as well as demonstrating peace, compassion, and joy. The clothes of this collection depict exactly that message in a fun, trendy and sporty way, showing that the messages of the Reign of God can be found anywhere. Also, as in current times with issues about global warming and the destruction of our planet, the clothing company has also incorporated the environment into this theme of “Peace and Love;” to not only demonstrate the Reign of God with people but also linking it to a virtue one can follow- Respect for Creation.

Reign of God Worksheet, class notes, October 3, 2008
How can I apply this to myself?
Works Cited......
Sister Helen Prejean:

Death Penalty Statistics and Facts:

•The death penalty started as early as 16 century BC. (It was used first in Egypt).
•Not all, but many of the victims of the death penalty in previous times were considered “outsiders.” (the they in we/they cases… ex: witches, blacks, Jews, etc.)
•Death penalties used to be conducted outside for the public to view.
•40 states the U.S. use the death penalty.

Types:                             
                              
•Stoning
•Guillotine
•Hanging                 {History of the Death Penalty Worksheet 
•Fire Squad                        class notes, March 9, 2009}
•Crucifixion
•Electric chair
•Gas Chamber
•Lethal Injection

Media Case Study:
Dead Man 
   Walking

In this movie, Sister Helen, even though somewhat scared and uncomfortable with the situation, chooses to be an upstander and “help” the character of Matthew Poncelet when he was sentenced to a form of the Death Penalty. She helped demonstrate that even if people do something as terrible as what Matthew did in the movie, rape and murder, that they are still people and as was stated in our class notes, have value and dignity of their life from womb to tomb. That even though we may make poor choices in our life, that every life is precious and is valuable until death. 

Dead Man Walking:
Why is this important or 
significant to me?
I like how Sister Helen, even when she was reluctant to do this, took the case with Matthew Poncelet and in a way, showed forgiveness to him. She demonstrated that even though Matthew was to be sentenced to death, he still had a value and did not need to be ignored as he was by his family, and others. She was an upstander by taking the case and doing something of this nature to someone she had not previously known or held in her Universe of Obligation. 
 

Lesson to be Learned?
                                     An upstander, is really just anyone                            
                                    who takes an action against or for 
                                    something when no one else is, 
                                    and is ready to help a person in  
                                    any way that he or she can. 
     Any person, whether it be a friend, family member or even an elder can make poor decisions. These decisions do not have to be as drastic as in the case of the movie with Matthew Poncelet, but can also cause people to feel guilty for their actions. In this scenario of the movie, an upstander will choose to do what Sister Helen did in confronting and comforting the victim by making them realize that they have done wrong, and ultimately how to fix that wrong and make it better. The upstander is that one person who will stand by the side of the convict and share in their pain and fears, but not leave them in times of trouble. 
This movie is based on Sister Helen Prejean's experience in 1982 with a man named Patrick Sonnier who was sentenced to death row in Louisiana by lethal injection. 
•The LISTEN model demonstrates how to have good moral decision making skills; how to make good choices.
•The LISTEN model presents a diagram on how to make good and just decisions that will later have the most benefit for you.
•The elements of the LISTEN model are interconnected and overlap with one another. 
•“Listening is a dynamic, active process. To listen actively is to be open to the world around us.” (Introduction to Listen Process Worksheet, class notes, January 29, 2009) In other words, this quote signifies to be open to many different possibilities and to not make hasty or careless decisions that can affect you later in life. 
What is the Listen Model?
Listen Model Handouts, class notes, May 29-30, 2009
LISTEN Process
1. Look for 
the facts.

2. Imagine 
      the 
possibilities. 
3. Seek insight
 beyond
 your own.
4. Turn inward.
5. Expect 
God’s help. 
6. Name your 
decision 
The Listen Model enables one make decisions in a more ordered manner, allowing one to consider all of the possibilities that may have been previously overlooked. The Listen model enables one to make ‘better’ good choices that will ultimately benefit the person. Also the Listen Model, in a way, prevents us from making wrong decisions and backs up what our conscience would say; the Listen model exhibits the positives aspects as well as the negatives.

The Listen Model helps me in making all kinds of decisions ranging from those that will affect me throughout my entire life, to those that give me difficulty in choosing between two {materialistic} things. Whether it be choosing which dress to buy: which one would be more appropriate for age, usage, and color, choosing the college that has the most ‘pro’s’ and opportunities for me, or choosing a career: interior designer, artist, pediatrician, or therapist, on in which I will spend my entire life working, the Listen process helps me with making a good choice.
How does this affect me?
•http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22029/22029-h/images/illus070.jpg
•http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.visitingdc.com/images/magic-kingdom-address.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.visitingdc.com/disney/magic-kingdom-address.asp&usg=__r1A-BnC2T-BoefmhJWK9yukOGxM=&h=531&w=446&sz=119&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=cllxARmjfNpnIM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkingdom%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1
•http://www.perplex.dk/photoblog/images/20051228124103_raindrops.jpg
•http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/onlineProductDisplay.vs?namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.jsp&event=display&prnbr=CP-243314&page=1&cgname=OSPNKTOPZZZ&rfnbr=4660
•http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/onlineProductDisplay.vs?namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.jsp&event=display&prnbr=CP-243067&page=1&cgname=OSPNKSASZZZ&rfnbr=6311
•http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/onlineProductDisplay.vs?namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.jsp&event=display&prnbr=CP-235646&page=1&cgname=OSPNKSASZZZ&rfnbr=6311
•http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cruciality.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/sister_prejean.jpg&imgrefurl=http://cruciality.wordpress.com/2009/01/19/blood-on-our-hands-an-interview-with-sister-helen-prejean/&usg=__bGGVlHKZGaUrfn3k-pH9jQPuhBc=&h=1993&w=1576&sz=1714&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=l0AdTnKLgm576M:&tbnh=150&tbnw=119&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsister%2Bhelen%2Bprejean%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
•http://routingbyrumor.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/dead_man_walking.jpg
•http://davinciautomata.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/clock_screen02.jpg
•http://bolstablog.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/two-women-hugging-forgiveness.jpg
•http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Penrose_hexagon.svg/400px-Penrose_hexagon.svg.png
•http://kayinlam.com/picture/DigitalCamera/Scenery/UniversityOfToronto_TorontoOntarioCanada_Sep2005-081.JPG
•http://api.ning.com/files/3NYXjJKudgjsx424dirru7a-BzZA4Yn6612IVE-OcFEOxLfyKiG8qIkN*PtyYfi7heUN9jmQ0G*Vc7WNyE8KIXuUeIvyUMfn/indexMedical.jpg
•http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_name=dress_casual&product_id=2057330835&Page=all
•http://www.thewritersworkshop.net/writing-2.jpg
•http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog_name=FOREVER21&category_name=dress_casual&product_id=2062412532&Page=all
•http://www.kovideo.net/lyrics/r/Relient-K/Who-I-Am-Hates-Who-Ive-Been.html

Media Piece: Lyrics
"Who I am Hates Who I've Been" ~Relient K 
 I watched the proverbial sunrise
coming up over the Pacific and
you might think I'm losing my mind,
but I will shy away from the specifics...

'cause I don't want you to know where I am
'cause then you'll see my heart
in the saddest state it's ever been.
This is no place to try and live my life.

[Pre-Chorus]
Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it.
See that line. Well I never should have crossed it.
Stop right there. Well I never should have said
that it's the very moment that
I wish that I could take back.

[Chorus]
I'm sorry for the person I became.
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change.
I'm ready to try and never become that way again
'cause who I am hates who I've been.
Who I am hates who I've been.

I talk to absolutely no one.
Couldn't keep to myself enough.
And the things bottled inside have finally begun
to create so much pressure that I'll soon blow up.

I heard the reverberating footsteps
sinking up to the beating of my heart,
and I was positive that unless I got myself together,
I would watch me fall apart.

And I can't let that happen again
cause then you'll see my heart
in the saddest state it's ever been.

This is no place to try and live my life.

[Pre-Chorus x2]
[Chorus]

Who I am hates who I've been
and who I am will take the second chance you gave me.
Who I am hates who I've been
'cause who I've been only ever made me...

So sorry for the person I became.
So sorry that it took so long for me to change.
I'm ready to try and never become that way again
'cause who I am hates who I've been.
Who I am hates who I've been.
What about Poncelet?

Poncelet, as portrayed in the movie, was a bystander to his friend's actions and later joined into them. These lyrics fit how Poncelet must have felt at the end of the movie, before he was to experience the death penalty.  
Analyzed Lyrics:
•"'cause who I am hates who I've been.
Who I am hates who I've been."
Poncelet is scared to face his death with the death penalty and may think that he has ‘lost his mind’ with his previous actions. 
In relation to the lyrics and the movie, Poncelet is sad for his actions; he cries when he spends his last moments with Sister Helen and confesses that what he did he feels sorry for.
This piece of the lyric is referring to the jail Poncelet is currently living in.
With this lyric, Poncelet is expressing that he is upset it ‘for the person [he] became’ and fully comprehends the horrible crime he had committed. He is ‘sorry that it took so long for [him] to change’ to realize his mistake and speak out about and apologize for it. 
With this lyric, Poncelet is expressing that he is upset it ‘took so long for him to change’ and fully comprehend the horrible crime he had committed. He is ‘sorry that it took so long for [him] to change’ to be a more caring person; even through the help opf Sister Helen was not completely achieved. 
Poncelet will never do anything of this scale of crime again; even if he was not to be killed. 
The new person Poncelet has become with the help of Sister Helen, the upstander, has made him realize that he was a bad person and does not want to continue living his life with the grief and memories of his crimes.
"you might think I'm losing my mind,
but I will shy away from the specifics... "  

•"'cause then you'll see my heart
in the saddest state it's ever been."

•"This is no place to try and live my life."
•"that it's the very moment that
I wish that I could take back."
•"I'm sorry for the person I became.
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change."

•"I'm ready to try and never become that way again."